Friday, August 14, 2015

The Moses Chronicle, Volume 1, Bondage/H.B. Moore

Synopsis:

    "Moses has always felt like an outsider in his powerful Egyptian family, even though his close relationship with Ramses, the prince of Egypt, and their cousin Pentu keeps him entwined in the dealings of royalty. But when their youthful antics get them in trouble, the Pharaoh decides it’s time for all three of them to grow up and own their respective responsibilities. Now betrothed to a woman he cares nothing for, Moses wonders where his life is headed.
    Miriam, a Hebrew slave, lives with a secret she cannot share with anyone. And though it has been eighteen years since she saved her baby brother, she is constantly getting in trouble for spying on him. In a desperate attempt to control Miriam, her older brother, Aaron, and her father look to find her a husband, something Miriam has never been interested in—until Caleb, a young, handsome man, confesses his feelings for her and asks her father for her hand in marriage.
    When Libya advances on Egypt, Moses and Miriam are suddenly thrown together as the Egyptian royals and soldiers flee. Hebrew slaves are forced to defend the kingdom, and Miriam and Caleb are enlisted under Moses’s direction. Moses quickly sees there is more to this downtrodden people than what he’s been taught. When he witnesses the atrocities enacted against the slaves, he realizes he must leave—he must find out who he really is.
    A gripping account of the events that lead to Moses’s flight into the wilderness, The Moses Chronicles: Bondage will take you back to a rich period of history replete with scandal, strife, love, and hope as God prepares a prophet to lead His chosen people."

Review:

    This first volume of the Moses Chronicles sets Moses when he is still living in the palace with his Mother. All he knows is what he grew up hearing, he had no father, the Pharaoh only tolerates him and his Mother because they are family, even that doesn't really matter. He is struggling to find his place, to make a difference to everyone, including the Hebrews. Against his Grandfather and Cousins rules (to keep the Hebrews in the slave category) Moses listens and comes to care for those his family looks down on.
    Miriam knows who Moses really is and is finding it hard coping with the loss of her baby brother. After all these years she is still keeping a close an eye on Moses as she dares, or until she gets caught!
    I liked the plot. Heather mentioned in the back of the book that she had planned to do three books, one with Miriam's point of view then the second with Moses', then third Aaron's. But I enjoyed getting to know each of them in this first book so I got a better understanding of each character in the same timeline. We also get the perspective of Moses' adoptive Mother Bithiah and her struggles within her own royal family.
    Most all of us know the story of Moses, Miriam, and Aaron through the scriptures, but what happened to them before they even knew each other? Before Moses left to find what his purpose truly was? With these books it opens up those possibilities and gives us a better insight on what it would have been like to live as a slave and a royal.

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